Matthew and Nic
After Darra and Bill left Saturday, the boys and Jenn stuck around to talk. Ally had great fun chasing them around and laughing. they ran in countless circles. I think Ally had about as much energy as the 2 of them put -together - or more.

(added 8-27-05) She did a somersault all by herself too. She hasn't been able to do it again though. I think she was just over-excited that day.

gama
This morning, Ally slept in because she was up all night. (That's another story) I was supposed to pick up G'ma Darra at her hotel and go garage sale-ing early in the morning. That didn't happen. I wasn't about to wake her up before she was ready. When we did finally wake up, she was resisting getting dressed. I told her she had to put on her shirt because we were going to go get grandma. She got real calm and repeated "gama?". I said it again, and she was off as fast as she could run towards the stairs and the front door saying "gama gama gama..."

graduating
August 29 is the big move up to the older toddler room. Next week, they will be visiting and getting used to the teachers. I'm going to miss this room. I kinda like most of Ally's teachers. Most of the kids will be moving with Ally to Room 5, but some will move up to Room 7. (Those who are already 2 years old are the ones moving to 7. I think Jayden is one of them. Yay!) One of the little girls, Olivia, won't be with Ally anymore, and that's kinda sad. They get along pretty well. Anyway, we'll see how she adjusts.

holds a grudge
Ally got bit again yesterday at daycare. I think it was the same kid that bit her a couple weeks ago. They won't tell me who, of course, but I have a good idea. Then, when I picked her up, Ally reinforced that for me.

Ally was standing next to me about ready to go, when Jayden walked within 4 feet of her. She threw out her arm and yelled "NO". Her teacher, Nicole, was next to me, and I said to her "She holds a grudge a little, huh?" Nicole just nodded. It's pretty obvious that Ally remembers who bit her.

I don't know what they're going to do with that kid. He bit another kid, and the teacher yesterday too. Oh well, I think that he's moving to a different room than Ally is.

sharing
Last night we went to Avery's visitation. Ally was snacking on a bag of KIX. When Marley got there, Ally decided she wanted to share, so she kept handing them to Marley. Once, when Marley didn't react fast enough, Ally told her "take it" She's awfully bossy. She was going a good job sharing with everyone though.

Daddy's diapers
Last night, I was outside watering the plants and left Rob and Ally inside together. When I got back in, Rob told me I missed something funny. Here's what he said happened:

"I farted. Ally said "poot" a couple times and went and got me a diaper. She laid out the changing mat and everything. It took me a while to convince her that I didn't need to change my pants"

moody
Ally was in a much better mood tonight than she was last night. Last night, she screamed all night. It was horrible. Tonight, she played, and laughed, and even ran around outside with me for a while. All in all, it was a pretty un-eventful day. I like days like that!

Ask you mother
When Ally got home from day care yesterday, she was wanting to watch a Pooh video. Rob told her to "ask your mom". I told her to say please. She walked back to Rob and asked him again instead.

This is starting too early!

remote control
Last night, Ally wanted to watch Elmo, so she grabbed a remote and pointed it at the tv. When nothing happened, she got closer and closer. Finally, she banged it against the screen. I told her no, so she did it again. I took it away from her and told her not to hit the tv. She took it back and hit the entertainment center instead. She thought we were having great fun. it was all I could do not to laugh at her. I tried my stern "mother" look, but must not have it perfected yet, because instead of stopping her, it just made her bang it quieter. The look on her face was SO funny. I wish I could read her mind at times like this. Finally, I picked her up, took the remote away and put it out of her reach, sat her on my lap on the couch, and made her sit with me while I explained that she had to listen to me. I must have gotten through to her that she couldn't test my limits anymore, because when we were finished, she went on and found something else to play with.

monster baby
Last night, (and a lot of the past week) Ally was a monster baby. She screamed at the slighest provocation, threw countless fits, and generally was cranky. We sat her down in front to the TV with an Elmo video so we could have a break from it and have supper.

Mostly, I think she was tired and hungry. Her tooth coming in has been bothering her (her first canine) so she hasn't been sleeping or eating well. Of course, once that starts, it kinda dominos until she crashes. She went to bed a little early and slept all night, so hopefully we don't have a repeat performance tonight.

2 days in a row
I hope this is becoming a pattern. Ally was a little more aware of what she was doing today. We put training pants on her yesterday when we got home and let her run around the yard a little. She never has to pee at night though. She's almost always dry form the time we get home til bedtime (or until we fill the tub for bathtime. That usually sets her off)

Success

Ally "tinkled" in the potty!!!

She woke up just a little early today, so we had time for it before leaving the house. I took her diaper off and gave her a toothbrush to occupy her while I brushed my teeth and hair and put my contacts in. She didn't say anything, but when I looked, she had gone. Hooray!! I'm sure that she didn't know what she was doing, but hopefully will catch on if I can get her used to it in the morning.

Potty time
Ally was playing with her pants Saturday. Rob asked her if she needed a new diaper. She walked over to the place I change her and laid down with her feet in the air. We took that as a "Yes" and Rob changed her. The diaper wasn't really wet, so we wondered why she cared, but went on with it anyway. 5 minutes later, she pooped. This means it's time to start potty-training.

I bought her a Potty-Elmo at Walmart. You give him a pretend drink. He tells you he has to go. Whether or not you get him to his potty, he (pretend) goes. Hooray if he makes it and "Maybe next time" if he doesn't. If you put him on the potty without giving him a drink, he sits and hums and says "Nothing's happening"

Ally loves him. She knows how to work him (mostly) and carries him around. She even sat still for a while on the potty with him. Keep your fingers crossed.

bathtime
Ally was in the bath last night filling her hands with water then washing her face. I got her a washrag to do it with instead, and told her to wash her face. After she did, she sat there starring at me. So I told her to wash her toes. When she got done, she just looked at me. We went through other body parts, too. Finally I said. Ally you can wash anything you want to. So she smiled real big at me and made a move to wash me with the washrag. Sometimes the kid is too literal

stuck
Lately Ally has been trying to get out of the car seat on the way home. She struggles and wiggles around. Then she yells stuck! I can't help but laugh. I tell her "You're supposed to be stuck. That's what the seat is for"

Grrrr
The lions say rar and the bears say grr. So yesterday, when Ally found a hidden pack of Teddy Grahams, she started growling. She brought it to me and said "open" (which sounds a lot like "happy". I'm not sure how, but it does) Then stood there grr-ing at me til she got one in her mouth.

night night
For some reason, Ally has abandoned the phrase "night night" she will now only say "bye-bye" at bed time. Very strange - she used to say night-night every night

visiting daddy
Rob had to work an extra shift today (overtime - yay!!). Since that would put him gone both days of the weekend, Ally and I went to visit him. Sundays are usually not too busy at work, so it was ok. He grabbed his partner and they brought the abulance to the park and we met them there. Ally played on all the slides. She did a lot better then I thought climbing some of the ladders. She does okay on regular ladders, but these were just climbing bars and stuff.

Then we grabbed lunch and went back to the apartment (where the ambulance crews stay). She ran around and played . Then she found the phone. We have a cordless at home, and I'm not sure she's ever seen a corded phone that wasn't a toy. She thought it was just great. We unplugged it and let her play. She just kept picking it up and saying "hello" and "bye" over and over. We had a pretty good day.

sleeping & knock-knock
Aly is still sleeping pretty regularly. She goes to bed around 9 and usually doesn't fight it. We've had to adjust the temperature in the house a little, but she usualy sleeps until I wake her up in the morning at 6:30. Yesterday morning, I went ni her room to get a bag of diapers for day care. I was going to put them in the car first and then come back in and wake her up, so I didn't turn on the light. I heard behind me "knot-knot" I turned around, and she was sitting up in her crib pretrending to knock on the door. I don't have any idea why though. Maybe she was telling me I should have knocked?

peanut butter computer
Last night I went downstairs while Ally was eating a peanut butter sandwich to do some things on the internet. After a little while I heard her yell "Mamom" So I hurried and finished what I was doing. i caught her most of the way down the stairs coming looking for me. I was afraid that she would get peanut butter all over the computer because she loves the hit the keyboard if I'm trying to do something. Rob had washed her hands though so it was safe. I wasn't however, because he forgot to wash her face.